Mail-sorting apparatus



April 1930- T. w. WILLIAMSON ET AL MAIL SORTI NG APPARATUS Filed April 20, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Inventor; ZZZ 2 20021 Ram-Z 72 z ypwwawtzg g April 1, 1930. T. w. WILLIAMSON ET AL i 1,753,036

MAIL SORTING APPARATUS Filed April 20, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventors v .1 W lfif'amwz Attorney April 1, 1930. "r, wlLLlAMSON ET AL 1,753,036

MAIL SORTING APPARATU Filed April 20, 1928 3 She he t 3 Inventors Attrng' Patented Apr. 1, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TIMOTHY W. WILLIAMSON AND ROBERT R. GENTRY, OF HOLLYWOOD, TENNESSEE MAIL-SORTING APPARATUS Application filed April 20, 1928. Serial No. 271,631.

The present invention relates to mail sorting apparatus and has for its object to pro- Vide a conveyor for feeding letters or other relatively small packages individually to a predetermined pigeonhole or other compartment arranged in the form of rack at one end of the conveyor.

A further object is to provide means for adjusting the conveyor so that the delivery 1 end thereof will be disposed in delivering position with respect to a predetermined selected pigeonhole or compartment within which the letter is to be placed.

A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of this character of a simple and practical construction, which greatly facilitates the handling and assorting of mail, which is inexpensive to manufacture, and otherwise well adapted for the purpose for which the same is intended.

Other objects and advantages reside in the special construction and combination of the Various elements comprising the invention, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof, wherein:

Figure 1 is a view inside elevation of the device, in operative position for delivering the mail to the rack.

Figure 2 is a top plan view.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal sectional view, taken substantially on the line 83 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a vertical transversesectional view, taken substantially along the line 4-4 of Figure l.

Figure 5 is an end elevational view for the keyboard for selecting the positionat which the conveyor is to be adjusted.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the conveyor frame, and

Figure 7 is a similar view of the pivotally mounted supporting frame for one end of the conveyor.

. Referring now to the drawing in detail,

we have shown our invention comprising a container 5, within which the mechanism comprising our invention is mounted, said container having supporting legs 6 for supporting the apparatus in a desirable elevated position. At the top of the containeris arranged a letter tray 7, within which a stack of letters indicated at?) may be arranged, the forward edge of the tray being opened, with the edge of the letters extending forwardly therefrom. Mounted within the .55 upper portion of the container is an endless conveyor 9 having its rear end carried by a roller 10, disposed immediately beneath the forward end of the stack of letters 8. The roller 10 is adapted to be operated through a belt 11 driven by a foot pedal 12 or any desired operating device. The forward end of the conveyor 9 is carried on a roller 13 mounted near the front end of the container.

The forward end of the conveyor 9 is arranged in overlapping relation with respect to an adjustable conveyor 14 carried by a substantially rectangular frame 15 having a roller 16 mounted at its forward end and extending forwardly of the container a substantial distance.

The frame 15 has its rear end carried upon a roller 17-mounted upon a shaft 18 for rotation in bearing supports 19 formed at the opposite side members of the frame 15. As clearly shown in Figure 6 of the drawings, the side members of the frame 15 extend rearwardly of the bearing support 19, with the extreme rearend of the frame forming a mounting for a weight 20 for counterbalancing the forward end of the conveyor.

The shaft 18 is also extended through the opposite side members 21 ofa substantially rectangular pivot frame 22, having pivot pins 23 extending outwardly from its u per and lower edges and pivotally supporte between upper and lower brackets 24 and 25 respectively extending transversely of the container in spaced parallel relation with respect to eachother. I y

The roller 17 is freely mounted on the shaft 18 and atone end is attached a pulley wheel 26, about which is arranged a belt 27 operatively connected with a motor 28 t5 mounted upon the pivotally mounted frame 21.

One end of the shaft'l8 extends outwardly through the side wall of the container'and is provided with an operating handle 29,

whereby to permit the pivotal movement of the frame 21 upon a vertical axis. The side of the container is formed with a slotted opening 30, to enable the handle 29 to be moved horizontally for accomplishing such pivotal movement of the frame.

The supports 19 formed in the conveyor frame are adapted to form a fixed connection with the shaft, so that upon a rotary movement of the handle 29 the outer end of the conveyor 14 will be raised or lowered A position control device is provided for the conveyor 14: comprising an arm 31 pivotally mounted intermediate its ends upon a bracket 32 secured to the side wall of the container and with one end disposed vertically adjacent the shaft 18 and provided with a horizontally disposedplatform 33. A pair of oppositely extent 11g rods34 are attached to'the shaft 18 at ricl g it angles thereto and disposed iinmediatelyabove the platform 33. A spring 35 is attached to theend of the arm 31 adjacent the platform for normally retaining the end thereof in downwardly disposed position. v

The opposite end of the arm 31 is operable through the keyboard comprising-a plate 36 carried by the arm and the bracket-37 attached to the outer end of the container 5 and disposed in spaced parallel relation with respect to said plate. The bracket 37 is provided with a series of openings through which are inserted pl-ungers 38, the lower ends of each of said plungers resting lightly upon the upper surface of the plate 36. a

The upper ends of the plungers 38 extend above the bracket 37 and are provided with heads 39, the plungers immediately beneath the bracket 37 having cotter pins 40 inserted therethrough whereby to prevent the removal f the plungers from the bracket. 7

As clearly illustrated in Figure 1 of the drawings, the plungers 38 are each of'a clifferent length, whereby, upon depressing the same, the plate 36 may be'moved downwardly a predetermined distance depending upon the length of the particular plunger actuated. The rear end of the arm 31 is moved downwardly and the opposite end thereof adjacent the shaft 18' is moved upwardly a prede-f termined distance with respect tothe rods 34. Upon the turning of the handle 29, one of the rods 34 will come into contact with the platform 33, thereby limiting the distance at whichthe outer end ofthe conveyor 14 is raised or lowered, as the case may be. The

outer end of the conveyor may be slid to any vertical position or association with the row of vertical compartments or pigeonholes 41 formed in a rack 42, withinwhich the letters from the outer end ofthe conveyor 14 may be deposited. A series of the racks 42 may be arranged in circular formation as illustrated in Figure 2 of the drawing, the horizontal movement of the handle 29 permitting the forward end of the conveyor 14 to be moved on a horizontal plane for depositing the letters into the pigeonholes of either of the racks.

In the operation of the device, the pedal 12 is operated sufficiently to cause the under neath letter of the stack of letters 8 to be drawn onto the conveyor 9 where the same may be read by the operator and the conveyor 14 is again adjusted to a desired position for depositing the letter into a predetermined pigeonhole of one of the racks.

The conveyor 9 is preferably manually operated by a suitable operating mechanism, such as the foot trea'dle indicated at 12, so that the conveyor 9 maybe moveda predetermined extent, and then stopped, so as to permit the operator to read the address on the envelope. The foot treadle is then again operated until the letter is discharged from the forward end of the conveyor 9 onto the conveyor 14:, which, as heretofore stated, is motor driven andcontinuously operated. I

It is obvious that the invention iss-usceptible'of various changes and modifications, 1

wi hout departing from thespirit or scope of the invention or sacrificing any of itsadvantages, and we accordingly claim' all such forms of the device to whichwe are entitled. Having thus described ourinvention, what we claim as .new is z I ,r

1. A mail sorting apparatus of the class described comprising a conveyor adapted to initially receive the mail, a discharge conveyor arranged to receive the mail fromthe discharge end of said first named conveyor, means for pivotally mounting the receiving end of said discharge conveyor for vertical swinging movement, means for. pivotally supporting said first named means for horizontal swinging movement, an operating lever adapted for effecting either a vertical or horizontal movement of said ;conveyor, a control arm engageable with said lever .for regulating the vertical adjusting movement of theconveyor, and a keyboard for .said control arm having a plurality of manually actuated keys adapted for selectively moving the arm in a predetermined manner-with re.- spect to said lever whereby tocontrol the extent of adjustment thereof;

2. In an apparatus of the class described, an article receiving conveyor, an article delivering conveyor operatively associated therewith said last named conveyor comprising a supporting frame having a pair of spaced rollers and a conveyor :belt trained over said rollers, an upright support pivoted for horizontal swinging movement, .a horizontal leverzcarried byv the support and'connected to theframe for vertically adjusting the outer end thereof, lateral projections carried by the lever and adjustable stop cooperating with the lever for limiting the vertical adjusting movement of the frame.

3. In an apparatus of the class described, an article receiving conveyor, an article delivering conveyor operatively associated therewith, a supporting frame for said last named conveyor having rollers at each end, means for pivotally supporting the frame for Vertical swinging movement upon the axis of the innermost of said rollers, means for pivotally supporting said first named means for horizontal swinging movement of the last named conveyor, a lever axially disposed with respect to said innermost roller and adapted to selectively move said conveyor and keyboard control means operatively associated with the lever for regulating the vertical adjusting movement of the conveyor.

4. In a mail sorting apparatus, a manually operable conveyor having one end engaging the under side of the stack of mail for feeding the lowermost piece of mail on to the conveyor, a continuously operated conveyor arranged to receive the mail from said first conveyor, a supporting frame for said last named conveyor having rollers at each end, a shaft for the innermost roller extending outwardly at opposite sides of the frame, a horizontally pivoted frame pivotally supporting said shaft end whereby to provide for the vertical and horizontal swinging movement of the conveyor supporting frame, one end of said shaft constituting a lever having a handle formed thereon for selectively swinging said supporting frame, stop means engageable with the lever limiting vertical movement of the conveyor and keyboard control means for regulating said stop means.

5. An apparatus of the class described comprising an article receiving conveyor, an article discharging conveyor arranged at the discharge end of said first named conveyor,

means for supporting one end of the discharge conveyor for vertical and horizontal swinging movement and comprising a horizontal shaft disposed transversely of the conveyor having an operating handle at one end and a supporting member mounted for move ment about a vertical axis and through which the shaft is journaled, and a key board control mechanism for controlling the swinging movement of said conveyor.

In testimony whereof We aifix our signatures.

TIMOTHY W. WILLIAMSON;

ROBERT E. GENTRY. 

